How Did I Fall In Love With You?
by Aisha the Ape Lover
Summary: [MMPR - Season 3] *Song Fic.* As Rocky tries to finish an assignment, his mind starts to wander...


How Did I Fall In Love With You

by Aisha Grace a.k.a The Ape Lover

Rocky DeSantos sighed as he stared down at his English homework. Mrs. Appleby had given the students the entire weekend to do the assignment, but that didn't seem to be enough time for Rocky. It was Sunday, and he still didn't have it finished. For once, though, it wasn't his Rangering duties that had prevented him from doing it. In fact, Zedd and Rita had been rather quiet during the past four days. No, destructive monsters were not his problem at all. His only distraction was... _Her_.  
Her being Rocky's best friend and fellow Ranger, Aisha Campbell. Ever since they had become Rangers, Rocky had seemed to have feelings for her; feelings that were never there before. Maybe it was the factor that their lives were at risk he realized that there was the possibility that they wouldn't have the rest of their lives to fall in love.  
"Why can't I get her out of my mind?" Rocky asked the empty room. He sighed and looked back down at his notebook. Only one sentence was written on the page; he couldn't think of anything else. His mind had traveled too far elsewhere.

_Remember when  
We never needed each other  
The best of friends  
Like sister and brother  
We understood  
We'd never be  
Alone_

Rocky sighed, glancing to the picture frame on his nightstand. It was of him, Aisha, and their best friend, Adam. They were all about twelve years old, smiling into the camera. Aisha looked like she was about to strangle Adam, and Rocky was standing behind him, holding the smaller boy so he wouldn't get away. It was only a joke, of course. As Rocky looked back, he realized that he had never seen Aisha in the light then that he did now.

_Those days are gone  
Now I want you so much  
The night is long  
And I need your touch  
Don't know what to say  
Never meant to feel this way  
Don't wanna be alone tonight_

_She's my best friend. Why do I feel this way about her?_ Whatever these feelings were, they were stronger than the Red Ranger could control. Everytime he thought of his friend, a smile was always brought to his face. Everytime he looked at her, his mind reeled at the thought of what they could be. There was only one thing to wonder...  
_Why can't I tell her how I feel? The worst she could do is completely reject me and find someone else..._

_What can I do  
To make you mine  
Fallin so hard  
So fast this time  
What did I say  
What did you do  
How did I fall in love with you?_

Rocky was taken out of his reverie when the phone rang. He picked it up on the second ring and hesitantly lifted it up to his ear.  
"Hello?"

_I hear your voice  
And I start to tremble  
Brings back the child  
That I resemble_

"Hey Rocky!"  
"Oh, hey, Ish..."  
"Did you finish the paper? I mean, Zedd and Rita have given us plenty of time to do it..."  
Rocky had to laugh. "Well, they have, haven't they? Actually, I've only gotten the first sentence down."  
"Rocky! You have to finish it!"  
"I know..."

_I cannot pretend  
That we can still be friends  
Don't wanna be alone tonight_

"Ish, listen..."  
"Oh, Rock, that was my mom. I gotta go, talk to ya later."  
"Wait, Aisha..."  
Before Rocky could complete his sentence, there was a click, and the line went dead. Rocky hung up the phone, tears gathering in his eyes. At that moment, his heart shattered into a million pieces. But yet, there was a small ray of hope as Rocky's communicator went off.

_What can I do  
To make you mine  
Fallin so hard  
So fast this time  
What did I say  
What did you do  
How did I fall in love with you?_

Rocky teleported into the Command Center without even answering the call. After he had materialized within the headquarters, he noticed Alpha and Zordon giving him strange looks.  
"What?" he asked.  
"WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE, ROCKY?" Zordon asked.  
"I got a call on my communicator."  
"AND YOU DIDN'T ANSWER, I NOTICED."  
"Um, yeah... I just thought that I should make it easier for me and come right to the Command Center."  
"WELL, YOUR HEART WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE. LOOK TO THE VIEWING GLOBE AND YOU WILL SEE THAT GOLDAR IS RAMPAGING THROUGH THE STREETS OF ANGEL GROVE."  
Rocky did as instructed and saw the golden monkey-like-entity going through the city district of Angel Grove, slashing his sword through cars and parts of buildings. People were running in terror, which only made the evil being laugh and cause more destruction.  
"I've got to do something," Rocky said quietly.  
"I AM GIVING YOU PERMISSION TO GO OUT THERE ALONE, BUT IF YOU NEED HELP OF ANY KIND, YOU ARE TO EITHER CALL TO THE COMMAND CENTER OR TELEPORT BACK IN. IS THAT CLEAR, ROCKY?"  
"Crystal. It's Morphin time! The Ape!"  
Rocky teleported out onto the scene, causing Goldar to turn in surprise.  
"Ah! A Power Ranger! Prepare to face your doom!" Goldar boomed.  
"How many times do we have to go over this, Goldar? Evil can never defeat good, which means that you will never beat me!" Rocky retorted.  
"You will soon see how wrong you are!"  
"Yeah, right."  
And so, the two engaged in a heated battle. It's not that they were evenly matched - far from it, actually - but like Rocky had said, good always wins, or at least it tries to with everything it has.  
Suddenly, everything began to move in slow motion. Goldar posed his sword above his head and brought it down in an arc. Rocky attempted to dodge it, but not in time. The weapon cut through the material of his Ninjetti uniform and into the skin of his shoulder. He staggered back from the pain that was intensifying by the second. The unfortunate thing was, his communicator was on his opposite wrist, and he could barely lift his hand to reach it. He tried it once, and concluded that the pain was too unbearable for it to work. Then, he saw Goldar's advancing.  
_Death by Goldar, or pain before teleporting? Lets see, which would lead me to Aisha faster? Teleporting, most likely._  
Rocky reached for his communicator, slowly so the pain wouldn't be too great at once. It was all he could do to press the teleportation button and disappear in a flash of crimson light.

Rocky was on his knees as he teleported into the Command Center. Zordon gave a concerned look, but soon knew why the Red Ranger was in such pain.  
The blood from his wound and soaked the entire shoulder and arm area of his uniform. Some of it even trickled onto his hand. _The sudden change in his molecular structure must've heightened the bleeding. It was a good thing he got here as soon as he did_. Zordon thought.  
"ALPHA, CALL THE OTHER RANGERS TO THE COMMAND CENTER. SOMEONE MUST STOP GOLDAR FROM DESTROYING THE CITY."  
"Right away, Zordon! Ay-yi-yi!"  
Alpha made the call, with Rocky still kneeling on the floor, holding his throbbing shoulder. A minute later, the other five Rangers materilized in the headquarters. All Rocky could see was the yellow beam of light which belonged to Aisha.  
"Rocky!" she exclaimed falling to her knees in front of him. "Rocky, what happened?"  
"I was fighting Goldar, and he slashed me with his sword, right into my shoulder. I could barely teleport," he replied with a bit of trouble.  
"That's what you get for having an ego, man," Adam joked from above them.  
Rocky tried to smile, but it hurt to do anything at all. Alpha tapped away at some of the controls at a console and a medic bed appeared behind Adam. Aisha exchanged a look with him and the two lifted Rocky onto it.  
"Rock, man, you gotta stop loadin' up on the burritos," Adam laughed.  
"At my house, if ya don't load up, ya don't eat," Rocky replied, managing to muster a smile.  
Aisha felt relieved, somehow, because Rocky was well enough to smile and joke as normal.  
Rocky looked over to the other Rangers - Tommy, Billy, and Kat. "You guys should get out there before Goldar destroys the city. I'll be fine here."  
The other five nodded, and all but Aisha took a step back. She stayed by his bedside and smiled.  
"Don't leave us while we're out there," she said.  
"I won't. I'll be right here when you guys to come back - victorious," Rocky replied.  
"Good."  
Aisha stepped back with everyone else. The five morphed and teleported out onto the scene. The city was still intact, but a great deal of damage had been inflicted. At first, Goldar's back was to them, and once he turned, he laughed.  
"Where's your friend? I think I took care of him, don't you think?" Goldar declared.  
"Not on my watch," Aisha whispered. And at that moment, a sudden sense of vegenance took over her judgement, making her liable to do anything to hurt Goldar.  
"Let's get this over with, Goldar!" Tommy exclaimed.  
The battle unsued, mostly Tommy fighting Goldar one-on-one, but it was still a team effort. In one of the moments where Tommy was truly fighting their enemy by himself, Aisha thought about Rocky, and what he was doing at that very moment.  
_I hope he doesn't die while we're out here fighting. I swear, Goldar's going to pay for it if he does. I can never see my life without Rocky..._  
"Hey, Goldar, you givin up yet?" Tommy asked menacingly.  
"I think you right about should. You're outnumbered five to one," Kat said, aiming her Power Bow at Goldar.  
"I may flee today, but tomorrow, you shall be the ones running for your lives!" Goldar exclaimed, disappearing in a flash of golden light.  
"I think that took care of him," Adam said, smirking behind his mask.

Alpha looked up as the five Rangers teleported into the Command Center. He did not exclaim in happy victory, even with the full knowledge that they had won the battle today. Aisha turned to look at Rocky, and noticed that his eyes were closed.  
"Oh no... Rocky!" she cried, running to her friend's bedside. _Oh God, please tell me he just fell asleep from the exhaustion of the battle. I can't lose him now; not when I'm **this** close..._

_I wanna say this right  
And it has to be tonight  
Just need you to know  
I don't wanna live this lie  
I don't wanna say goodbye  
With you I wanna spend  
The rest of my life_

Then, Aisha noticed that Rocky wasn't breathing. Even if he was unconscious, he'd still be breathing. A sudden dread filled the Yellow Ranger; dread and fear from the possibility of what it all could be. She looked up at Zordon. The great sage nodded, confirming everyone's fears.  
"No, Rocky... No," Aisha whimpered, grasping his hand in search for any sort of life. But alas, there was none.  
"I AM AFRAID SO, AISHA. ROCKY DIED TRYING TO SAVE THE EARTH. HE WILL BE MISSED, BUT ALSO REMEMBERED AS A GREAT HERO."  
"But, a little cut on his arm isn't supposed to kill him!" she protested.  
"But it did. He lost too much blood to possibly survive, Aisha," Billy said.  
Aisha turned back to Zordon. "Did he say anything before he left us? He didn't just close his eyes and fade away, did he?"  
"NO. HE HAD A MESSAGE FOR ALL OF YOU. FOR TOMMY: 'YOU MAKE A GREAT LEADER, AND YOU WILL CONTINUE TO. DON'T BLAME MY DEATH ON YOURSELF. THERE'S NOTHING ANYONE COULD'VE DONE.'"  
Tommy nodded as a tear slipped down his cheek.  
"FOR KAT: 'YOU ARE NEW TO THE TEAM, BUT I KNOW YOU WILL MAKE A GREAT RANGER.'"  
Kat almost smiled. She couldn't believe that Rocky had remembered her, considering that they weren't very close friends at all.  
"FOR BILLY: 'YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT FRIEND TO ME, AND I KNOW THAT THAT GENIUS OF YOURS WILL GET YOU SOMEWHERE.'"  
Billy nodded, trying to fight the tears in his eyes.  
"FOR ADAM: 'WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER ALMOST ALL OF OUR LIVES, AND YOU ARE UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS. LIKE I SAID TO TOMMY, DON'T DWELL ON MY DEATH. YOU COULD SAY THAT I DIED WITH HONOR, WHICH IS TRULY THE BEST WAY TO DIE.'"  
Adam's gaze dropped to the ground. _With honor? What does it matter, Rock? You're still gone from this world. It doesn't matter how; you're still gone._  
"AND TO AISHA: I LOVE YOU.'"  
Everyone gasped and turned to Aisha. She kept her gaze on Rocky. Unlike everyone else, Aisha let the tears fall from her eyes.  
Suddenly, Aisha took a step back from the medic bed and closed her eyes, as if she was in deep thought. Her face went blank and a few seconds after, a yellow glow formed on her hands. She went back to Rocky and gently laid her hands onto his chest. The still body absorbed the energy and bits of color came back to Rocky's face.  
Everyone stood in wonder of what Aisha was doing, including Alpha and Zordon. As more of the yellow energy went into Rocky's body, life seemed to be brought to him. He started breathing, and after a few minutes, he opened his eyes.  
Rocky looked up at Aisha. She took her hands away and smiled.  
"Aisha..."  
"I love you," she whispered.  
"I love you too."  
A second later, Aisha closed her eyes and her body fell limp to the ground. Rocky jumped out of the medic bed and crouched beside her. He touched her cheek, then joined his hand with hers.  
_Please tell me she's just unconscious. God, I couldn't lose her, not twice in the same night._  
Rocky realized, as he held Aisha's hand, that there was no sign of life in her at all. He backed away, tears gathering in his eyes.  
"She's gone," he whispered. "She gave her life, in exchange for mine."  
"SHE DID IT OUT OF LOVE, ROCKY. AND SHE WILL BE DEARLY MISSED," Zordon said in attempt to comfort the young Red Ranger.  
"That doesn't displace the fact that she's gone, Zordon," Adam said with his gaze on Aisha.  
Zordon nodded solemnly. The Command Center seemed oddly quiet as the five teens, Zordon, and Alpha looked upon the still body of Aisha Campbell.  
Rocky went back to his lost love, and held her hand one last time. "I guess this is how it ends. I love you, Aisha."  
_There's so much we could've done together. So many things we could've said. There's no chance at that now. And yet... I still wonder how I came to feel this way for you. I guess I'll never know._

_What can I do  
To make you mine  
Fallin so hard  
So fast this time  
Everything's changed  
We never knew  
How did I fall in love with you?_

The end... Or is it?

* * *

Author's Note: Yay! My second completed song fic! *does a party dance.* Okay, there's a sequel in the works, so check it out when I publish it. I may make it with HAPPY ending! Alright, I know this ending is sad, but it is really sweet, don't ya think? I mean, the whole self-sacrificial thing sooo romantic!

Oh, and before I forget, the Power Rangers belong to Haim Saban and the song "How Did I Fall In Love With You" belongs to the Backstreet Boys, ecspecially Howie D. considering he wrote it. I've said my peace. Goodbye and remember: Long live the Ape and the Frog!!


End file.
